The Last of the Vikings

by John Bowling

  CHAPTER VI.

  BARON VIGNEAU.

  "All is lost save honour."

  Early on the morrow, strange rumours and stories, which made the bloodcurdle, were brought to the monastery by refugees from far and near.Both gentle and simple fled hither, being buoyed up by the widespread,but in this case delusive notion, that sanctuary walls would be sacredlyrespected. Amongst the number was the lovely daughter of the worthyThane Beowulf, who, along with his son, had been slain in resisting theadvance of the Normans. My heart sank within me as I looked upon hergreat beauty, realising with painful vividness how helpless and impotentI was to protect her--well knowing that lust and rapine, let loose,would not be awed or restrained even by the sanctity of the Church.

  I had commanded the monks, with all refugees, to repair to the chapelfor prayer, whilst I at the first summons repaired to the gate with someof the housecarles and lay brothers, and commanded the gates to bethrown open, when in poured a motley crowd of soldiers and men-at-arms,evidently bent on plunder, and totally uncontrolled by any sort ofdiscipline. The crowd surged by me and carried me along, deriding myentreaties to be heard. One leader, in complete armour, and whom Iafterwards ascertained to be Baron Vigneau, I appealed to in vain. Herudely pushed me aside with an oath, bidding me say my prayers to thedevil, for he would soon have me and my monkish crew.

  One party made a dash for the northern extremity of the enclosure, wherewere the outbuildings, in which our cattle, sheep and goats, andnumerous attendants were housed. These servants, however, made theirexit, with all speed, from the northern gate, as they saw the Normansenter at the south. One, Badger as he was called by his companions, whowas keeper of the hounds and hawks--a mighty hunter, who kept our larderwell stocked with venison, and fish, and game of every kind--held hisground. A sly rogue was Badger--so called from his propensity forhunting these animals and clothing himself in their skins. For hunting,hawking, and fishing, he was a prodigy. He was well-nigh fleet as ahare, and could swim like an otter; and had wherewithal so sly a humour,and such shrewdness, that he was a great favourite with me, and I hadtaken pains to add such instruction as I thought would be serviceable tohim. The reader will pardon me this digression. But this Badger was suchan active agent in the subsequent troublous times, and served the Saxoncause so well, both by his matchless cunning and his rare valour, that Ihave taken the trouble to introduce the reader to him at such greatlength. A most grotesque figure he presented on this fateful morning,clothed as he was from head to foot in skins.

  "Hilloa!" roared one trooper to another, as they set eyes upon him."What the deuce kind of an animal is this?"

  "The foul fiend, or one of his imps, by Moses!" rejoined the other.

  "Who are you, Satan?" said the first one, riding up to him and givinghim a hearty thwack across the shoulders with the flat of his sword; atwhich Badger set up a most hypocritical howl. "Stash that, will you, youlump of hog's-flesh, or I'll make pork of you in a twinkling! Where areyour cronies? Have you buried them, you old grave-digger?"

  "Oh, hang him, Jaques!" chimed in the other impatiently. "Don't botherwith the slobbering clown! But I've a notion it is a dry shop in thisquarter; you had better get back again to the jolly friars, if you wouldhave venison pasties and old ale. But I'm going to have a look round,and see if they have left a hack or two better than mine. They haven'tleft a worse, I'm blowed! I don't believe he is a horse. He's only ashadow and a half; the wind was just going to carry him off when I tookhim: so I committed no robbery when I stole him. I vow it's only myweight which keeps him in this world at all. Gee up, old marrow-bones!Your old backbone will do to shave the monks with. I wonder I'm notsplit up the middle by this. I verily believe my trunk is shorter by agood six inches than my legs, and I've only been perched on your oldrazor-rig these three days. Heigh-up! Jaques," continued he, suddenlywheeling round, "if you find a tap of good old ale before I get back,hold on to it till I come! I'm as thirsty as a sponge that hasn't had asoaking for twenty years. I could suck up half a hogshead easily. Mysoul is oozing away through the pores in my body, and all for lack ofmoisture."

  Meanwhile, the monks, together with numerous refugees, chiefly women,were gathered in the church, vainly trusting to the sanctity of theplace for protection. I had no faith in this, however, and had taken theprecaution to have our most valuable and costly treasures of silver andgold and books conveyed to the sacristy, a barrel-vaulted apartment nearthe south transept, led down to by a flight of stone steps, which werecunningly covered over by the flagging of the floor. This had beendesigned expressly for the hiding of our valuables when a raid wasanticipated by the Scots or Danes.

  Many of the Normans, I noticed, made at once for the church. No doubtthey fancied the richest booty would there be found. They rudely burstopen the doors, and I pressed in with them. At once the fierce andundisciplined soldiery commenced to break and plunder everything. Iadvanced towards the leader, Vigneau, and prostrated myself before himto beg for mercy for the refugees. Alas! He furiously spurned me withhis heavy boot, and cried to his men, "Ho, men! here are a lot of scurvymonks! Kill the rats in their hole!" Prompt to obey, the soldiers letfly a volley of arrows amongst the helpless throng huddled about thealtar steps, and wounded many of them. Unhappily, Vigneau at that momentespied the lovely Ethel crouching amongst them. "Stay, men!" he shouted."By Jupiter, here's the loveliest Saxon wench my eyes have seen. You maytake the gold and silver baubles and melt them into zechins. Here's myshare of the plunder!" Immediately he seized Ethel and dragged her fromthe steps of the high altar. "Nay, nay, wench," said he, "never be soshy! Thou wert intended for better company than simpering monks andfriars. Damnation!" he roared, suddenly releasing her, staggering back apace or two and staring aghast at her; for she had sprung at him anddriven with all her force at his chest a small dagger she held in herhand. The dagger rattled upon his mailed chest, but left him scathless.Still she stood confronting him, like a panther at bay.

  "By Jove!" he roared, as soon as he had recovered from his astonishment."Here's mettle anyhow! I little thought there was so much spirit behindthat pretty face. All the better however, for milk and water is no goodeven in a wench. Here goes for another embrace, my bantam!" So saying,he seized her with his mailed hands, and wrested the dagger from her,pitching it across the church. Then he literally tucked her under hisarm, all the while roaring with laughter at her frantic but ineffectualefforts to release herself, and away he marched down the aisle of thechurch. I seized his arm, and was imploring him to have pity, when hecalled to a rough-looking soldier. "Here, fellow, run this shavelingpriest through with thy sword, quick!" I gave myself up for a dead man,for I felt that I could not let him carry off Ethel, when suddenly therewas a hush of voices, and looking round I beheld a Norman lady, ofmajestic port and bearing, pressing forward towards us, whilst closebehind her there followed a score of armed men. I perceived at once thatshe was a lady of rank by her rich apparel and jewelled head-dress. Shewas also of surpassing loveliness and commanding figure. As she beheldthe brutal Norman, I saw the fire flash in her rich dark eyes, as withquick step she marched boldly up to him and accosted him in words almostof fire. "I think this is another evidence, Baron, of your base andunchivalrous regard for the distressed of my sex, by the brutal way inwhich you are treating this helpless Saxon lady! You afford me ampleopportunities of testing your gallantry, and better opportunities, too,than listening to your false and honeyed words, which you are pleased topour into my ears."

  "These are but Saxon varlets, Alice; and Saxon varlets, whether male orfemale, are not fitting objects of chivalry to a Norman knight."

  "Chivalry is for the oppressed and weak of any nation. So be pleased torelease this lady, and cease harrying these holy and unresisting men."

  "Take care what you are at, madame!" savagely hissed the Baron, betweenhis teeth, "or your meddlesome interference with business which does notconcern you will be at your peril. Mark that, _ma grande dame_!"

  "Let go the arm of this la
dy, I say, and leave this sanctuary at once,or I shall report your conduct to the Count forthwith."

  "Tell the Count, madame, if he dare, to look in the wolf's mouth andcount his teeth, and he'll not do it twice, you may mark that!"

  He let go of Ethel, however, and, muttering savagely many fierce oaths,he strode out of the church, followed very reluctantly by his men.

  "Jules Reynard," said the lady, addressing the leader of her men, "doyour best to protect this holy place, and the lives of these monks."Jules Reynard acquiesced by a low obeisance. "Lady," she said,addressing Ethel, "I grieve very much at the rude treatment andmishandling you have been subjected to at the hands of these savage men.If you like to accept my protection, I think I can protect you fromfurther annoyance and insult."

  "I thank you, madame," said Ethel, "but this cannot be. Your people haveburnt my home, basely slaughtered my father and my brother, and Iprefer, whether living or dying, to company with my own people."

  The Norman lady heaved a deep sigh. "Alas! I daresay it is but too true,and I can well understand your feelings; but I will strive to be asister to you, if you will come with me."

  "Say no more, lady; this cannot be."

  "Well, then, we must part. But, mark me--though it is hard to say it ofone's people--look for no compassion at the hands of my people, andbeware especially of him from whom you have just escaped, for 'histender mercies are cruel.'"

  "I look for no compassion at the hands of the Normans, nor will I seekit or suffer it. The hands that are red with my kinsmen's blood, cannotbe grasped in amity by me. There is a deep and bloody barrier betwixt meand thee, which a lifetime cannot erase," said Ethel bitterly.

  "Alas! alas! Nevertheless, adieu, lady; we may meet again. If I canbefriend you in any way, how gladly will I do it, to the very utmost ofmy power!" With that she hastily left the chapel--as I learntafterwards, to try and stay as much as possible the fierce bloodshed andrapine of the soldiery. But it is needless to say her efforts were tolittle purpose, for though she managed to have them cleared out of thesanctuary, ere long they were back again, and, like greedy hawks, theypounced upon everything, no matter how sacred the purpose to whicharticles of value were devoted. They carried off the silver table of thehigh altar, the silver cups, dalmatics, censers of silver; in fact,everything ornamented with silver or gold. Speedily the whole of ourpossessions were at their mercy, excepting the things I had secreted asaforesaid. To complete this sad day's work, when nothing more of valuecould be had, they turned their attention to our cellarer's store ofwines and ale, and the rest of the day, and the night also, was spent indrunkenness and carousing. The whole of the night was spent by the monksin prayer and fasting, whilst for the most part our refugees were gladto escape to the woods, being thankful if only they could do so withtheir lives. A sad day's work this for the sanctuary which had takengenerations to bring it to its high state of usefulness and piety!